Four injured in fiery Fort Myers Beach crash

A 23-year-old man and three teens were critically injured in a crash after the driver, traveling at a high rate of speed on Estero Boulevard, lost control and colllided with a wall early Sunday morning.

A witness estimates the vehicle was traveling 80-90 miles per hour when the crash happened around 3 a.m. Sunday morning near Mound Road.

Investigators say the driver, 23-year-old James Lepore, was speeding when he tried to take a curve near the 6000 block of Estero Boulevard.

The vehicle left the roadway, hit a sign, sideswiped a concrete wall and struck a second concrete wall head-on at the entrance of Ascension Catholic Church.

Friends of the victims say the three teens, 15-year-old Francis Gannon, 17-year-old Asia Tannasse and 16-year-old Brooke Bosley got into the car with Lepore - a man they just met.

"I came out and the car was crushed into the wall. You couldn't even tell what kind of car it was," said witness Richard Reider.

Deputies believe the vehicle burst into flames when it collided with the wall.

"By the time I got out here, I hear another boom and the car was on fire," said Reider, "The way the car hit the wall, it looked like an explosion."

When deputies and fire crews arrived, Lepore and two teens were trapped inside the burning vehicle. A fourth passenger had been pulled out of the vehicle by a Naples Daily News delivery person who was passing by.

Sheriff's officials say the impact of the crash made it difficult for them to retrieve the people trapped in the vehicle. One passenger was even trapped for about an hour.

Estero Boulevard was closed from Flamingo Street to Lanark Avenue for four hours. It reopened just before 8 a.m.

Deputies investigating the crash say alcohol and speed were factors.

Victims and conditions:

- James Lepore, 23, of Cape Coral. Lepore was airlifted to Tampa General Hospital and is in critical condition.

- Francis Gannon, 15, of Cape Coral. Gannon was also airlifted to Tampa General Hospital and is in critical condition.

- Asia Tannasse, 17, of Cape Coral. Tannasse was taken to Lee Memorial and remains in serious condition after an operation.

- Brooke Bosley, 16, of Cape Coral was taken to Lee Memorial Hospital. Bosley was discharged from the hospital with a broken pelvis.

Friends of teens speak of hours before crash

Close friends of the victims say they were with the three Cape Coral teens just hours before it happened.

Friends say they were all hanging out on Fort Myers Beach last Saturday night, when their three friends got into a car with someone they just met and took off down Estero Boulevard.

"I said, Calm down, I can't hear you. A crash, what crash?'" said Brianna Faeielle, a friend of the victims.

The three Cape Coral teens were trapped inside an SUV after it crashed and burst into flames.

Their friends rushed to be by their side at the hospital and shared pictures with us of their friends; 15-year-old Francis Gannon, 17-year-old Asia Tannasse and 16-year-old Brooke Bosley.

Ashley Pavel says the teens were all hanging out on the pier at Fort Myers Beach Saturday night.

Around 2 a.m., friends say the three teens got into a car with Lepore.

A friend says they were driving from Lovers Key back to Fort Myers Beach when Lepore sped off down Estero Boulevard.

The next thing they saw was their friends being pulled from the shredded SUV.

"There's like nothing left of that vehicle. I could have never imagined that would have happened last night," said Pavel.

Investigators say Gannon was trapped in the front passenger seat. Tannasse was trapped in the back. Bosley was pulled from the wreckage by a Naples Daily News contractor.

"It was a regular night. I stopped to get coffee and one of my buddies called 911 cause there was an accident," he said. "It's one of those thing that takes a long time to get over. Talk about it all you want, it's still there implanted in your brain."

"If it wasn't for my other friends that came, we would have been in that car too," said Faielle.

Three of the victims were immediately airlifted to Lee Memorial Hospital.

The driver and Gannon were burned so badly in the wreck, they were immediately sent to Tampa General Hospital.

We contacted Gannon's mother. She told us she has not seen Gannon in about two weeks and there were two warrants out for his arrest.